Aragorn's Revenge
by Estelle1
Summary: [Complete] Aragorn seeks revenge for his eyebrow... Kinda a sequel to The Haircut.
1. Chapter 1

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Title: Aragorn's Revenge

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Rating: PG-13

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Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. They belong to J.R.R. Tolkien. I merely take them out for some fun and will return them in good shape. 

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Summary: Seeking revenge for his eyebrow, Aragorn's simple prank turned out to be more than simple…

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Author's Note: This is sort of a sequel to "The Haircut" but you don't have to read it to understand this story. The Haircut was just a piece of silliness I did after I went for my haircut. I initially meant for this to be a 2-page silliness but it had somehow taken a life of its own and turned into more of an adventure rather than comedy.

Please review! Constructive criticisms will be kept close to the heart and flames will be fed to the balrogs!

Many thanks to Eleni for being my beta. Love ya! *hugs*

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Part 1

Aragorn lay in bed staring up at the ceiling and smiled. It had been two months since Legolas left Rivendell and he had had the entire sixty days to plot his revenge. It had taken almost a month for his hair to grow back to its original length. All he wanted was a trim and he made the biggest mistake in his life by letting the elf prince do it. 

Claiming that he had experience in "cutting and trimming", the ranger had reluctantly allowed Legolas at the task. But he soon regretted it as he eventually found out that the elf's "cutting and trimming" skills came from trimming the hedges around his father's palace. But it was too late to back out. Legolas had already taken off a third of Aragorn's hair by trying to balance the length on both sides not to mention a chunk of his ear. And that wasn't the worse. The elf had claimed to have "accidentally" trimmed off one of his eyebrow! The humiliation he had to go through before his hair eventually grew back to its original length was not something that he wanted to live through again. In addition to that, he had to endure the jokes about his eyebrow. He had hidden in his room for most of the first month, avoiding coming face to face with his elven brothers. They had teased him relentlessly when they found out about his missing eyebrow, calling him all sorts of funny names. The ranger reached up to his forehead and smoothed his newly grown brow unconsciously. Legolas was going to pay. He was going to make the elf lose more than his just his eyebrows. 

The ranger had thought of dozens of plots but had dismissed most of them because they involved pain and blood. He only wanted to humiliate his friend, not to cause him any physical harm, although he would love to for all the teasing that he'd had to endure. Turning on his side, the human pulled the blanket up to his shoulders and closed his eyes. Tomorrow, the prince would be arriving and he would set his plan in motion. It would take some time but it was worth the wait.

***

Legolas rode through the gates into the courtyard of The Last Homely House and dismounted. Glancing around the compound, his eyes sought out his human friend. A figure jogged towards him, his dark wavy hair flowing in the wind. The hair. Legolas flinched as he remembered what had happened two months ago. He would have to be careful for he knew that Aragorn would not let that incident go without revenge.

The young man reached the elf in a matter of seconds and greeted him warmly.

"Legolas! How nice to see you again," Aragorn grinned mischievously.

"Uhh…" Legolas hesitated seeing the human's over-active happiness. "Nice to see you too?" he replied cautiously but the human ignored him.

"Come. We are just about to have afternoon tea." Aragorn dragged his friend by the arm and pulled him towards the direction of the house. "Join us. Hurry, before Elladan and Elrohir finish all the cookies."

Tea. Cookies. Was Aragorn going to take his revenge by drugging him? Images flashed through Legolas' mind. He saw himself tied up in a chair, Aragorn waving a pair of scissors in front of his face. Then the imaged flashed to him looking into a mirror and seeing himself, but something was amiss. He was bald and both his eyebrows were gone! 

Legolas jerked as the image dissolved into Aragorn's face. The ranger was staring at him and shaking him lightly. "Are you all right?" he asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Legolas shrugged the human's hand off and gathered himself. "I'm fine. I just…" he paused and waved his hand. "Never mind. It's nothing important." Smiling at the worried human, Legolas gave him a playful shove. "Let's go before we're only left with cookie crumbs."

The twins watched as the prince sipped at his tea carefully taking it a little at a time in case it was really drugged. Elladan and Elrohir knew that their little brother had planned his revenge but he had refused to tell them what it was. They felt sorry for the elf prince for they knew that Aragorn's prank was not going to be merciful. 

Nibbling at the cookie, Legolas searched his senses for any uncommon taste. He found nothing. Soon, the pile of cookies was reduced to crumbs and the pot of tea ran dry. The elf prince began to relax when he did not feel anything strange happening. 

The four friends relaxed around the house for the rest of the day until dinner was served. Same routine again, Legolas tested his food carefully, his actions causing Elrond to cast curious glances at him although the elf lord did not question his odd behavior. But Legolas did not care how the Lord of Imladris was looking at him. He was more worried about falling for one of Aragorn's tricks.

That night before they retired, Legolas checked his bed thoroughly making sure nothing more than two legs were hiding under his pillows and blanket. He dusted out the sheets in case Aragorn had placed some of those itching powders onto them. Finally satisfied that everything was in order, the elf crawled into bed, mentally exhausted from the constant defence he had to put up against his friend. The next morning, the elf repeated the same routine with his clothes, checking for any creepy crawlers or strange powder.

Days turned into weeks and to Legolas' relief, nothing had happened. He was beginning to wonder if he was over-sensitive. Perhaps the human was not as vengeful as he thought he would be. However, to be on the safe side, he still performed the inspection to his clothes and bed every morning and night.

As time went by, Legolas began to feel more relaxed. It seemed like the human was not going to take his revenge after all. Aragorn had acted normal and had not shown any ill intentions. The two friends had gone on a hunting trip last week and all had gone well. The elf began to relax around the human and fell right into Aragorn's plan.

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews :) Here's the second installment. Hope you like it.

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Part 2

The afternoon was warm and sunny, a perfect day for a swim in the lake at the waterfall. Legolas had extended the invitation to his friend but Aragorn politely declined claiming that he had to help his father with some chores. Elladan and Elrohir had been sent out on a scouting trip that morning and had not returned yet. The wood-elf contemplated whether to go alone and almost changed his mind but Aragorn promised that he would join him as soon as his job was finished. The ranger asked him to wait at the lake.

Legolas reached the waterfall and settled down on a large rock near the shore. He removed his clothing and tossed them carelessly onto the grass. His boots soon joined the rest of his belongings. Clad only in his underwear, the fair being dove into the lake in one swift motion. The water was cool against his skin as he surfaced for air. Flinging the water out of his hair, he swam out towards the middle of the lake, enjoying the beautiful afternoon.

Aragorn followed Legolas to the lake, tailing him from a distance. Today would be the day. He had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. He needed to catch the elf prince alone in the lake. Sneaking out from behind some trees, the ranger observed the graceful being as he dove into the pool. The ranger's gaze fell on the bundle of brown and green lying beside the large rock and grinned. Spying from behind the trees, he watched as the elf swam towards the middle of the lake, his back facing the ranger, unaware of his presence. Taking the perfect chance, Aragorn made a beeline for the bundle, scooping it up and turned his direction towards the north side of the lake. The ranger left an easy trail for the prince to follow on purpose, leading him to his next prank. When he neared the location, the young man changed course and headed towards home, carefully covering up all his tracks. To the elf, the trail would have appeared to end in the middle of nowhere.

"Aragorn, is that you?" the elf turned around and swam back towards shore as his elven senses picked up a presence behind him. "Strider?" the elf called out again but the field was empty. Empty! His clothes were gone! "Aragorn!! Give me back my clothes!!" the elf yelled frantically for his friend knowing very well that the man was long gone. "Human scum!!" he shouted. Scanning the area with his keen elven eyes, he saw the trail that Aragorn had left for him. "You're a dead man, Strider!" 

The elf pushed himself out of the water after looking around nervously making sure that the area was secure. The last thing he needed was to be caught standing in the middle of the field half-naked and dripping wet. He crossed his legs and bent his knees, trying to minimise the exposure. The afternoon wind made his bare skin tingle uncomfortably and he shivered slightly more out of embarrassment than cold. Hugging himself tightly across the chest, Legolas followed the trail awkwardly, constantly scanning the area for any unwelcome visitors.

The ranger's tracks ended abruptly among the dense trees. The tall grass tickled Legolas' fair skin sending goosebumps through his entire body. The elf wandered around aimlessly wondering why the ranger had led him here. Then he saw it. A piece of cloth hung loosely on the edge of a long fragile-looking branch. A thicker branch ran parallel below the thinner branch several feet above his head. The branch extended away from him over a patch of thick undergrowth but looked sturdy enough to hold his weight. After all, elves were light-weighted beings. Legolas scaled up the tree with ease reaching the lower branch quickly. Balancing himself well on the thick branch, the elf inched out towards the edge and stretched out for the cloth above his head. But before his fingertips could brush the soft material, the branch under him shifted. A small creak alerted the elf and he froze. 

*He rigged the branch!* 

Legolas swore silently. He surveyed the situation and decided that he could handle the fall. If only he could snag the cloth before he fell. Calculating the distance, the nimble elf leapt and closed his fingers around the cloth. He landed back lightly on the branch but the rigged branch snapped under his weight nevertheless sending him tumbling down into a pile of leaves. 

Pushing himself up from the ground into a sitting position, Legolas spat out a mouthful of grass and plucked twigs and dry leaves out of his wet hair. But a smile spread out on his face as he saw the object of interest lying a few inches beside him. Picking up the cloth quickly, he unfolded it and his jaw dropped. The so-called cloth was in shreds. It was folded carefully to fool the elf into believing that the material was large enough to cover him. Legolas flung the piece of offending cloth away disgustedly and stomped across the thick undergrowth, cursing under his breath. The human was good, too good for his liking. He was certain that the young ranger was hiding up some tree silently laughing his head off. 

"Okay Strider! You win!" the elf yelled throwing his hands into the air to indicate defeat and waited for his friend to scamper down some tree. Nothing happened. "I'm sorry about what happened to your hair!" the elf shouted. "And the eyebrow…" he added softly. 

Still nothing. 

"Fine! Hide and laugh!" Legolas treaded through the thick bushes, his mind searching for ways to return to the house without being detected. Realization hit him suddenly, "that's what you wanted, isn't it?! Have me trod into the house half-naked!" Muttering more curses, Legolas made his way across the field unaware of the trip-wire that he was about to trigger. 

A soft click caught the elf's attention and he twirled around not expecting any danger so close to home. But before he came fully about, a sharp pain exploded in his right thigh. Legolas cried out in shock and pain as he fell to his knees, a bolt embedded deeply in the soft flesh. The throbbing pain quickly turned into a dull numbing pain and he knew that the bolt had been poisoned. It had to be removed before more poison entered his system. Grabbing the shaft, the elf prince ripped the bolt out but he was surprised that there wasn't much pain although he was bleeding rather heavily. The numbness began to spread out from the point of impact to the rest of his leg. Having nothing to staunch the bleeding, the woodland being regretted throwing the cloth so far out of reach. 

Clutching the bleeding wound tightly, Legolas tried to pull himself up but the numbness had rendered his right leg useless. Ignoring the panic that rose within him, the prince inched forward with the aid of his left hand and leg, intending to get out of the area as soon as possible. He knew that Aragorn did not set the traps and that his friend would never hurt him. The traps must have been meant for some other purposes for the aim was low, too low to do serious damage to a humanoid but just nice to strike an animal. And the poison was meant to put the animal out of its misery painlessly, working quickly to numb the senses and shutdown the autonomic functions. Fortunately, the dose was not high enough to kill an elf although it would probably render him unconscious and give him a terrible headache after the effect wore off.

Legolas pulled himself forward slowly inching towards the open field. His arms and other leg had begun to feel the effect of the poison making his movement painstakingly slow. Suddenly, without warning, the ground below him disappeared and he plunged into emptiness. He hit the bottom, face down, with a sickening crack, the impact knocking the wind out of him momentarily. Legolas gasped for breath and tried to sit up but his body seemed to have taken a life of its own and refused to do what his mind commanded. All that he could do was roll over onto his back, staring up from the bottom of a seven-foot deep hole. 

The fall had aggravated his leg wound, causing it to bleed again. Dry dirt clung at his smooth skin and matted into the open wound in this thigh. He tried to assess for other injuries but could not seem to do it when he couldn't feel any pain.

"Thrider!" the elf called out as loud as his body allowed him to. "Thid id not phunny anymoore!" the words slurred, his tongue felt like a chunk of lead in his mouth.

For a moment, he thought Aragorn would pop his head over the opening and grin down at him but all was quiet outside. He started to feel dizzy. His vision blurred and his breathing started to come in short rasps making him wonder if he had given himself a concussion when he fell and had broken some ribs. On the other hand, maybe it was just the poison wreaking havoc within his system. Closing his eyes against the bright afternoon sunlight, the elf lay at the bottom of the pit helplessly and waited, hoping that someone would discover him before dark. He hated the idea of spending the night in the pit especially when half-naked and without knowing the extent of his injuries. 

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

Elrond sat at the head of the table and waited as his sons settled themselves around it, ready for dinner. His gaze fell on the empty seat beside his youngest son. "Where is Legolas?" he inquired with a raised eyebrow.

  
Aragorn snickered at the question. "Probably still trying to find a way back to his room without being noticed."  
  
Elladan and Elrohir's ears perked up at what their brother said. "You pulled your prank without us?" the older twin cut in. "What did you do?!"

  
"Yes, tell us!" Elrohir interrupted his twin and leaned across the table, staring at his human brother. "I knew you were up to no good."

  
Aragorn grinned from ear to ear.

  
"Stop grinning and start talking..."

  
"Before we hurt you..."

  
Elrond leaned back against his chair and watched with a smile as Elladan and Elrohir grilled their little brother for information.  
  
"You did what?!?" Elladan choked as Aragorn told them from how he gained Legolas' trust to how he stole the elf's clothes while he was swimming. 

Elrohir was laughing so hard that his face had turned a dark shade of pink and he had to brace himself on the edge of the table to avoid sliding to the floor.

  
"So... so you mean... there is a-a... naked elf running around in the woods?" Elladan managed to ask between gasps of hysterical laughter.

  
"Not entirely. He still had his underwear." Aragorn answered with a serious tone.

  
That sent the twins into another giggling fit.

  
"Then I led him to the North side of the lake, to the area with the dense undergrowth and tricked him into thinking that I'd left him some cloth..."

  
"Did you say the North side?" Elrohir sobered immediately and pushed himself upright from the table.

"Umm... yes, the part with lots of brush. Is something wrong?" Aragorn tensed at his brother's sudden, serious demeanor.  
  
Elladan looked over at Elrohir. "The traps!" the older twin shouted and jumped up from his chair, knocking it over in the process.

  
"What traps?!" the young human sprang to his feet, looking wildly from one twin to the other.

  
The two brothers started talking simultaneously but were stopped by their father, whose presence was completely forgotten by the three.

  
"Silence!" the elf lord commanded and the room fell dead silent. "One at a time." Elrond nodded at Elladan. "You first."  
  
"There have been reports of wolves wandering in that area after nightfall, attacking lone travellers. We have set up traps to get rid of them." Elladan explained.

  
"A seven-foot deep pit was dug, a few days ago and Elladan and I went to set up the rest of the traps this morning." the younger twin added. "And we saw a piece of white cloth hanging from the branch of a tree... was that the cloth  
you were talking about?"

  
Blood drained from the ranger's face and he nodded dumbly.

  
"It's amazing that you didn't end up in the pit! But Legolas could have triggered the traps. I think it's best we go find him!" Elladan spoke quickly, grabbed Elrohir and Aragorn by the arms and dragged them towards the door.

  
"Don't forget the rope! And take a blanket!" Elrond called out and sighed, exasperatedly. Dinner would have to wait. He had more pressing matters to deal with at the moment. Rising from his chair, the elf lord made his way to  
the healing room in order to retrieve his pack. This would be a long night unless by some miracle the four returned without a scratch. Elrond shook his head. He did not think he would be that lucky.

  
***  
  
A drop of water fell onto his cheek followed by another. Legolas struggled to open his eyes but his lids felt like they had been fused together. He concentrated hard and commanded them to open and after several long minutes, he managed to pry his heavy lids open a slit. He had no idea how long he had been out but judging by the shadow, or more like the lack of, many hours had passed. He felt feverish, the heat emanating from within told him that his leg wound was most probably infected.

  
Another drop of water fell from above onto his mouth. The cool liquid slipped through between his dry lips igniting a raging thirst in him. He wished for more and his wishes came true when several more large droplets splattered onto his face and body. As the rain got heavier, the elf began to feel a little concerned. The gods must be playing a joke on him. First he got sprawled out naked at the bottom of a pit and now they had decided to give him a mud bath.

  
Legolas flexed his fingers and was surprised that they actually moved. The poison must be wearing off. He wiggled his toes as feeling slowly crept back into his limbs. The rain water seeped into the ground beneath him, turning lose dirt into mud.

  
*Great! Now I'm being transformed into some swamp monster*

  
As the numbness slowly wore off, the pains in his body decided to make themselves known. The wound on his thigh throbbed painfully as he tried to move his leg and he wondered what other injuries he had sustained during the fall.

  
The ground beneath his bare body turned soggy quickly and he knew that he had to sit up before the mud swallowed him. Pushing himself up on one elbow, the elf groaned as a sharp pain flared across his chest making him fall back towards the ground. Legolas took a moment to catch his breath and tried again, this time he was prepared for the pain. He managed to push himself upright but the sudden change in position and the intense pain made him dizzy and his vision blurred. Leaning heavily against the wall, he closed his eyes and gathered himself.

  
*Okay, definitely broken something there*

  
Mud washed down from the sides of the pit, soaking into his hair making Legolas cringe. It would take him days to get the mud out. He tried to stand on his good leg but the limb was still too weak to support his weight. Flopping down onto the ground unceremoniously, he felt the cold mud ooze into his underwear.

  
"Arrrghhh!!" the prince groaned out in frustration.

  
Legolas...

  
Someone was calling his name but it sounded far away. Maybe it was only his imagination.

  
*I must have hit my head harder than I thought*

  
The voice... no... voices came again, this time a little louder and closer. They sounded like his friends.

  
"Er! Umm ere!!" the elf shouted but the words didn't come out right. His tongue and lips were still numb. He tried to call again but before he could do that, three heads appeared over the hole above him. 

  
Elladan's jaw dropped when he saw the almost naked and muddy prince. He did not know whether to laugh or to feel sorry for him. Although they already knew that the prince would be unclothed, it was still amusing to actually  
see it.

  
Elrohir snickered beside his twin brother and earned an elbow to his side.

  
"Be sympathetic brother," Elladan scolded and tried to keep a straight face but failed miserably. That only made Elrohir laugh even harder. Fortunately for the young prince, mud was covering most of his bare skin. At least he  
was partially 'covered'. 

  
Aragorn peered down at his friend. "Can you get out?" the ranger asked, more concerned for his friend's well being than the comical state he was in.

  
Legolas stared up at the human and rolled his eyes making Aragorn wince at his own question. Of course he couldn't. Otherwise he wouldn't be stuck in there. The ranger released a lank of rope down into the pit indicating for  
the prince to climb out but Legolas looked up at the human and shook his head, pointing to his chest and then leg. "Can't. Urt."

  
Aragorn paled. Not only had he humiliated his friend, but he had also, unintentionally, caused him physical harm. Feeling extremely guilty for what had happened, he offered to go down to retrieve the injured elf. Climbing  
down the rope easily, the ranger landed with a splash and the mud splattered onto Legolas' face. The elf prince sputtered as Aragorn knelt down beside him trying to assess his injuries but Legolas swatted his hands away.

  
"Out." Legolas pointed upward and wiped the mud out of his eyes. He wanted to get out of this mud pit as soon as possible.  
  
Understanding very well what the elf meant, Aragorn tied the rope under the elf's arms carefully trying hard not to jostle the injured being any further. He gave his friend's shoulder a light squeeze. "This will hurt," he said apologetically. Legolas only nodded.

  
The ranger gave the rope two sharp tugs signalling for Elladan and Elrohir to start pulling. The prince yelped as the rope tightened around his chest jarring his injured ribs. He bit down hard on his lower lip and gritted his teeth to prevent himself from crying out loud. When they finally pulled him out, Elladan untied the rope and tossed it down for Aragorn while Elrohir quickly wrapped the blanket around the trembling wood-elf.

  
The rain abated and stopped completely in the next few minutes after the rescue. The three brothers crowded around Legolas shooting him with questions, the twins asking him what exactly happened and Aragorn asking where he was hurt. The torrent of questions sent flashes of pain across his temples and he held his head between his hands, moaning loudly. The questions stopped immediately and three pairs of eyes looked at him intently. "Later," he grunted. Right now, all he wanted was a hot bath and a warm bed. "Home. Bath. Sleep." The prince muttered.

  
Elladan cleaned the wound on Legolas' thigh and bandaged it neatly before Elrohir and Aragorn helped him up onto his feet but the prince wobbled dangerously and grimaced as the weight was put on his right leg.

  
"That's it. I'm carrying you." Aragorn bent down and scooped up the elf into his arms before Legolas could protest.

  
Legolas didn't care what they did to him. They could drag him back behind them for all he cared. His head was pounding so badly that he felt like it was going to split into two soon. He just wanted to go home.

  
The burning heat coming from Legolas' body worried the ranger. He regretted deeply for pulling the prank on his best friend and apologized repeatedly to the prone body but his words fell on deaf ears. Legolas had long fallen into  
the merciful state of unconsciousness.

  
"Father will not like this," the human told his brothers as they hurried back towards the house.

  
"No he will not," the older twin answered.

  
"He is going to kill me!" Aragorn added with a tinge of panic in his voice.

  
  
The ranger sighed and shifted the bundle in his arms. Legolas had better be all right. If not, he would never be able to forgive himself.

  
"It's not your fault that things turned out like that. You didn't know about the traps," Elladan tried to comfort his human brother. The young man was beating himself up again for things that he had no control over.

TBC…


	4. Chapter 4

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A/N: Hehehe. I'm glad that ya'll liked it. You have no idea how much your reviews mean to me! Thank you! This part is going to wrap up everything. Sorry if it is a rather hasty ending but I need to start working on The Need of Many. Been putting if off for quite some time because Aphy (my adopted muse) went to visit his original owner, Cat. *lol* By the way, Cat and I are almost done! We've only got a few more parts to join up. *dances* If you have no idea what I'm talking about, visit our little trailer. You can find it under "The Need of Many Trailer".

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Part 4

When Legolas eventually awakened, he was clean and warm, tucked comfortably into bed. The room was dark save for the fire burning brightly in the fireplace. A lone figure sat in a large chair near the fire. He shifted slightly under the soft blanket and braced for the pain in his chest that never came. All that was left was a dull ache. His movement caught the attention of the figure and brought him to his bedside.

  
Elrond brushed the wayward hair away from the younger elf's face and rested the back of his hand on Legolas' cheeks, testing for his temperature. It was not easy to get the fever down and the elf lord was relieved that it had  
broken on the morning of the second day. "Welcome back," the older elf smiled down at the still groggy prince.

  
With the help of Elrond, Legolas managed to sit up in bed, looking around the room. "Is it night already? How many hours have I been out?" he asked while trying to suppress a yawn.

  
"You mean how many days?" the elf lord replied to his question with another and smiled. "It's been two days since you were brought back here, dripping wet and covered in mud."

  
Legolas winced but was grateful that the Lord of Imladris had omitted the part of him being somewhat naked. "Two days..." he leaned back against the pillows. "Where's Estel?"

  
"He blames himself for what happened and has been hiding in his room after I assured him that you were well." Elrond said softly. "He only left his room for meals and refused to talk to anyone. He was afraid that you would be  
angry with him."

  
"It wasn't his fault!" Legolas interrupted quickly, "I'll go talk to him." He threw back the blanket and swung his legs off the side of the bed but before he could stand, Elrond stopped him.

  
"It is half past three in the morning my dear prince. I think it could wait until morning."

  
"Ohh," Legolas blushed and settled back into the warm bed allowing Elrond to pull the blanket over his body. "I suppose it could wait a few more hours," the elf said sleepily. "I could use the extra rest."

  
Elrond shook his head. *Young ones. Always so impulsive*

  
***  
  
Morning sun crept slowly up onto the sky and her soft rays spilled into the room. Legolas sat down on the floor beside Aragorn's bed and watched the human while he slept. Aragorn looked so young and innocent. He could hardly believe that the boy he once knew had grown up so quickly to be a fine young man. A glint caught his attention and Legolas reached out under the chair and picked up the feather. *Time to have some fun* He ran the soft feather lightly across Aragorn's face and the human swatted at it in his sleep. He tickled Aragorn again on the cheek and the ranger slapped himself on the face trying to get rid of whatever insect that was bothering him.

  
Legolas chuckled softly at the human's reaction as he jerked up on the bed, eyes still clouded with sleep.

  
"Wha?!" the ranger blinked. "Legolas!" his eyes widened as he saw the elf. "You're awake! Are you well? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to... It was never meant to be that way! I didn't know about the traps!" Aragorn fumbled with  
his words as he tried to apologize to his friend.

  
"Slow down Strider," Legolas laughed, trying to calm the frantic ranger.

  
Aragorn stared down at his hands, too ashamed to face the elf. "If anything happened to you, I'd never be able to forgive myself," he berated himself.

  
"Don't worry Estel, I'm fine," Legolas reassured the ranger, "except for a little wet and muddy..." the elf prince paused momentarily remembering the unpleasant experience and continued, "but nothing a little bed-rest won't  
heal."  
  
"Are you mad at me?" Aragorn's voice was so low that Legolas could hardly hear him. "If I didn't leave the trail for you to follow, you would not have stepped into the trap..."

  
Legolas placed his fingers under the human's chin and tilted his head up, gazing into the silver-grey eyes. "If I was mad at you, we wouldn't be sitting here having this conversation, would we?" the elf smirked and ruffled the human's hair affectionately. "Besides, I know you were unaware of the traps. Elladan and Elrohir told me everything."  
  
"Still... I'm sorry," the young man apologized again. "If we didn't come for you that day, who knows what would have happened."

  
"Would you stop apologizing already?" Legolas cuffed him upside the head "The important thing is... you came for me. And that is what I will remember." Leaning closer to the ranger's ears, the elf whispered, "and I would appreciate it if you didn't mention about what happened to anyone else or I'll be forced to tell about the eyebrow." Legolas wiggled his eyebrow to stress his threat and Aragorn chuckled.

  
"I wouldn't dream of letting anyone know about my eyebrow so your secret is safe with me." Aragorn answered with a lopsided grin.

  
"Good, now that everything is cleared up, shall we go have breakfast? I don't know about you but the last time I ate was two days ago and I would really like some food." Legolas got up and limped slightly to the end of the bed. Grabbing Aragorn's robe, he tossed it towards the human. "You can change after breakfast."

  
Legolas extended his hand towards the ranger and Aragorn took it gratefully, pulling himself off the bed and onto his feet. Wrapping the robe around his sturdy frame, the ranger and his friend made their way out of the room.

  
"You may have sealed my lips, but you still have Elladan and Elrohir to worry about."

  
"I will worry about that later. Right now, I'm more worried about my stomach."

  
"Hmm..."

  
"What?"

  
"Maybe if you find a way to shave their eyebrows..."

  
From a distance, Elrond watched as the tension between his human son and the elf prince dissolved into laughter and he whispered a silent thanks to Iluvatar... for good friends.

  
  
  
  
- The End - 


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